England will add the varicella vaccine to the NHS routine childhood vaccination programme from January 2026, officials have announced. The chickenpox jab, which private clinics charge around £150 for a full course, will be included in a new combined MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella and varicella) vaccine. It will be offered at GP practices and is expected to protect around 500,000 children each year.

Chickenpox is a common childhood illness, usually mild, but in some babies, young children and adults it can be serious, potentially leading to hospital admission and, in rare cases, death. The vaccine will be delivered as part of the MMRV vaccine, and the rollout will eventually replace the current MMR component. This marks the first addition of protection against another disease to the routine programme since 2015. Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, deputy director of immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency, said: “Most parents probably consider chickenpox to be a common and mild illness, but for some babies, young children and even adults, chickenpox can be very serious, leading to hospital admission and tragically, while rare, it can be fatal. It is excellent news, that from next January, we will be introducing a vaccine to protect against chickenpox into the NHS routine childhood vaccination programme – helping protect against this nasty illness and for those who develop severe symptoms, it could be a life saver.”

The Department of Health and Social Care says the disease costs about £24 million a year in lost income and productivity, with parents taking time off to care for affected children. The rollout is also expected to save the NHS around £15 million annually in treatment costs. Health minister Stephen Kinnock said the move would help keep children in nursery or classroom and ease pressures on families balancing work and childcare. The JCVI had recommended the introduction of the jab on the NHS in November 2023. Amanda Doyle, NHS England’s national director for primary care and community services, described the development as a positive milestone and said vaccination teams and GP practices would work to roll out the combined MMRV vaccine in the new year. Data published show uptake of main childhood vaccines in England did not reach the 95% target in 2024/25, with 91.9% of five-year-olds having one MMR dose, 83.7% both doses, and 88.9% receiving the first MMR dose by 24 months.